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15th anniversary of Hatfield

On the 15th anniversary of the Hatfield rail crash, TSSA rail union leader Manuel Cortes is calling on the government to secure track maintenance safety and halt plans to break up Network Rail.

"This weekend we will remember the victims of the Hatfield disaster and we send our condolences to their relatives whose lives were shattered by their loss.

"It is now well known that poor privatised maintenance practices caused the Hatfield rail crash," said Manuel.

"The rightful Labour government response to this was to get rid of the privatisation that put profit margins above passenger safety with the creation of publicly owned Network Rail who swiftly took maintenance in-house.

"On the 15th anniversary of Hatfielld we owe it to the victims and their families to remind the Tories who are currently rumoured to be on the brink of breaking up Network Rail why Network Rail was created and why passenger safety and rail maintenance are too important to leave to the market. It was because the inquiry into Hatfield - and the Potters Bar Crash two years later - happened because cutting marginal costs on rail Maintenance really does cost passengers their lives."